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Fritz Howard
|assignment=Organized and Serial Crimes Unit ---- Special Operations Bureau Office of Operations (interim) Special Operations Bureau |portrayedby=Jon Tenney |series= The Closer, Major Crimes |firstappearance= |finalappearance= }} Deputy Chief Fritz Howard is the commanding officer of the LAPD's Special Operations Bureau on Major Crimes from Season 3, onward. Chief Howard also served as the Acting Assistant Chief of Operations following Asst. Chief Taylor's murder in of Major Crimes, Season 5. As the Acting Director of Operations, he was responsible for managing and coordinating all matters related to field law enforcement and detective operations throughout the city. Howard returned to lead the Special Operations Bureau at the end of . During The Closer and at the beginning of Major Crimes, he was a Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the liaison officer to the LAPD. He worked as part of the FBI's Organized and Serial Crimes Unit based in the Los Angeles Field Office. Character Information Federal Bureau of Investigation At the start of The Closer, Fritz is introduced as an old friend of Brenda's during her first case . At this point, he had been working in L.A. for three years, although he originally received his training from the FBI in Washington D.C. Brenda is told she will not be able to obtain DNA results from the LAPD for many weeks, so she contacts associates at the FBI. Fritz notices that the results are for her and personally delivers them. From this moment onwards, Fritz goes on to provide the Major Crimes Division (formerly the Priority Homicide Division) access to FBI resources through his many contacts. However, this causes some friction between Fritz and Brenda and he stops giving her squad special treatment when his colleagues start making fun of him . Brenda eventually learns from Pope that Fritz, who has been irritable and annoyed with Brenda lately, has been offered a promotion in Washington, DC to command of the FBI's Critical Incident Response Team. Fritz later admits that after going to rehab, he thought that he would never get offered a promotion again, but was wrong. However, taking the promotion would've forced them to move to DC along with many other complications and he turned it down, though he may be offered another promotion he wants to take in the future that will force them to discuss their options. Fritz admits that he hadn't told Brenda and had been so irritable because he was worried about making her choose between him and her job. In cases where Major Crimes works with the FBI, Fritz often acts as a liaison agent, much to the amusement of the MCD detectives. He is later officially given the position after Brenda is put onto the short list for the possible future Chief of Police. In , Howard responded as the FBI - LAPD Liaison to a homicide which was being investigated by the Major Crimes Division, along with FBI Special Agent Morris who was the lead investigator on the FBI's part. The victim was a Israeli born naturalized U.S. citizen who was supposed to give a testimony in federal court over illegal drug trafficking committed by his cousin but because the victim had not yet testified, he was not under federal protection. The FBI's involvement caused some problems for the LAPD because the victim's wife felt that they had been betrayed by the FBI and therefore didn't want to cooperate. After Capt. Raydor promised the wife that Morris would be kept clear, she started cooperating. Later, when Raydor found out that the FBI had searched a house owned by the victim's cousin and that they found the same type of weapon that was used to kill the victim, Raydor was furious with the FBI over the fact that they did not tell her that. Morris and Howard told Raydor that if they told her that, they could have jeopardized their two-year investigation into a international drug ring, a risk they could not take. Raydor promised the FBI that she would not jeopardize their investigation and hatched a plan to get the cousin out of the house so Det. Sanchez and Det. Sykes could search it and recover the weapon. The plan was a partial success, they got the cousin out of the house without alerting him of the FBI's investigation but they did not find the weapon. However, when the cousin met a "intuitive life strategist" who had been having an affair with the victim's wife along with his, both the cousin and the victim's wife started cursing each other out, inadvertently giving more evidence to support both the LAPD and the FBI in their cases. In , Howard assisted the Major Crimes Division in finding Benito Zapata, an embezzler who was presumably living in Costa Rica. They went over all of the FBI's information on him, even revealing that they have had his wife's emails and phone under surveillance for nearly eight years. When Capt. Raydor wanted to speak to her, she asked Howard to fly her down to LA from Colorado, as the LAPD doesn't have the budget for that but the FBI does, especially when the case is an interest for the FBI as well. At first, Howard didn't want to tip off the wife that she was under surveillance but Raydor reminded him that they've had her under surveillance for a long time without any progress. Fritz eventually agreed to the flight after some phone calls to his bosses. When the wife arrived at LA, Howard picks her up at the airport and brings her to the PAB. She reveals that her husband was having multiple affairs, so if they locate a woman who went missing around the time he did, they'll find him. The squad then realized that their original murder victim could fit that description and eventually find out that the $1.8 million Zapata embezzled was in an account held by their victim, not Zapata, which is why the money was never recovered. They also surmise that the reason Zapata can't be found is because he's dead. The killer proves to be the husband of the original victim who was recently cleared of her murder due to Zapata's blood being at the crime scene. With the help of the man's daughter, Zapata's body is located and the killer takes a deal of life in prison rather than face trial for murdering Zapata. In the end, the LAPD got their killer and the FBI managed to recover the embezzled money. In , Fritz first appeared at the PAB after a state judge was assasinated, believed to have been collateral damage in an attempt to kill the new LA Superintendent of Schools and Fritz was said to have been arranging protection for the man and his family. Later, it was discovered that the judge was the original target all along. The Judge had 23 pending cases and Fritz wanted to know if any of the cases were drug-related, but unfortunately the files didn't say. Det. Sykes did google the Judge's name and found out that he was about to preside over a case which would have most likely opened the door for legal marijuana cultivation in California. This raised some eyebrows with the Major Crimes Division as Fritz just happened to ask about the topic. Fritz tells the squad that he just had a hunch, but if he could examine the bullet that killed the Judge more closely, he could probably tell them something "more definitive." Later, Fritz returned to the PAB with the information that the bullet came from the same weapon that was used to kill a city councilman and a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent, meaning the case now belonged to the FBI. Against orders, the MCD continued investigating the case and eventually located a witness who could identify the killer, who's identity was unknown as he never leaves any trace of himself. The FBI joined the LAPD on a sting operation during which they hoped to catch their killer. Fritz and the other FBI Agent, Goodwin, make it clear to the LAPD that they want the killer alive, hoping he would turn on his bosses in the cartel. After the LAPD moved the witness' vehicle to a more secure location in order to force a move from the killer, the ruse works. When their witness goes to his car, the hidden killer shoots him before being confronted by the LAPD and Fritz. When the killer points his weapon at them, they are forced to fatally shoot him. It was revealed that the man the killer shot was actually Agent Goodwin in disguise, sent out to draw the killer out and he is revealed to be unharmed due to a bulletproof vest. They unfortunately aren't able to identify the shooter, though Fritz believes they will eventually figure it out. Their witness is also taken into Witness Protection for his own safety and Fritz said he would be personally handling the case for the FBI. In , Fritz is shown to be worried about politics while investigating a murder connected to an Indian diplomat. His adherence to policy causes him great annoyance by the squad with Lt. Provenza making snide comments about looking for clues and Fritz kissing the diplomat's ass. However, when the diplomat goes too far, Fritz loses his temper and threatens to have him deported despite threats to his job. During , Fritz works side-by-side with the LAPD to rescue two kidnapped children and their mother from the husband, who had kidnapped the three and murdered his parents who were in witness protection. Fritz insisted on leading the charge with SWAT instead of Andy Flynn, telling him to trust him as he could do "what needs to be done." During the raid, the hostages were rescued and Fritz killed the suspect who was firing at them with a submachine gun. After the raid, Taylor offers him the job of Deputy Chief in charge of the Special Operations Bureau. According to Taylor, at this point Fritz had been in the FBI for twenty-seven years and could retire with full benefits to start a second career with the LAPD. Fritz promised to consider the idea, but wasn't sure if he would take it due to Brenda getting offered a great new job in Washington, DC. In , Fritz has agreed to take the job as Deputy Chief of SOB and is at the point of retiring from the FBI to join the LAPD. Before he fully retires, Fritz aids the LAPD in solving one more case as an FBI agent. At the end of the episode, Fritz suffers a heart attack and has Tao secretly take him to the hospital to be treated, requiring Fritz to wear a pacemaker as shown in , something that he keeps from Brenda. Los Angeles Police Department Appointment Having retired from the FBI after 27 years, he is appointed to the rank of Deputy Chief by Assistant Chief Russell Taylor to command the Special Operations Bureau (SOB) at the end of in Season 3 of Major Crimes. * As the commanding officer of the Special Operations Bureau, Howard is responsible for managing the specialized tactical resources of the LAPD. By position, the SOB commanding officer is also the LAPD's Gang Coordinator, responsible for developing policies and procedures for gang and narcotics enforcement strategies as well as providing citywide oversight of geographical area Gang Impact Teams and geographical bureau Gang Coordinators. Shortly after accepting the Deputy Chief position, he falls victim to a heart attack. During this time, Lt. Michael Tao became privy to this, when Fritz asked him to drive him to the hospital. He is told by his doctor to reduce the stress in his life and to change his diet if he wants to recover fully. He is also told that he should think about retiring or taking disability leave because going back to work could possibly risk his life. He ignores these suggestions and returns to work wearing a pacemaker and eating blood thinners to reduce the clotting in his arteries, though he keeps this secret from all but Tao. He has not even told Brenda about his heart attack or that he wears a pacemaker. After this event, Lt. Michael Tao often tells him to "take it easy" when he gets agitated or stressed from the job, often confusing his colleagues. The timing of him accepting the Deputy Chief position could have come at a better time considering his health. His first major operations immediately after accepting the position were the rescue of a kidnapped police officer and containing a possible gang war after a gang banger was acquitted of murder and released from jail , both of which put him under serious stress. Acting Assistant Chief In , Fritz was assigned as the Acting Assistant Chief of Operations after the Los Angeles County Courthouse shoot-out which left Assistant Chief Taylor, among others, dead. Although having taken the position, he noted to the Major Crimes Division that he had no interest in being permanently promoted to Assistant Chief and being Russell Taylor's replacement. * Although from this point onward Fritz was the Acting Assistant Chief, his rank insignia still identified him as a Deputy Chief. From onward, he had the badge of an Assistant Chief but still had only two stars on his collars. In , Fritz is responsible for overseeing the departments active shooter response training. It also became apparent that Deputy Chief Winnie Davis is not very accepting of his position as the Acting Assistant Chief, claiming that the department lacks firm leadership under his command, most likely because of his history in the FBI and the fact that the department would not accept an "outsider" like him as the Assistant Chief on a permanent basis. This was further confirmed in , when Capt. Raydor and Cmdr. Mason were discussing their possible promotion to Assistant Chief, and Mason only mentioned himself, Raydor, and Davis to be in the race to Assistant Chief because if Fritz was even considered for the part, he would have already been permanently promoted to that position. In , Howard assigned the Major Crimes Division an investigation into a hit-and-run, as Los Angeles is having a war between cars and bikes, and the city has become the number one in the nation's hit-and-runs. Because of this, the LAPD's Traffic Division's are overwhelmed with cases, and too few drivers are getting arrested and too many children are being killed. Fritz wants to turn that around, and starting from that night, the hit-and-run situation in L.A. has become a major crime. In , Fritz is at a leadership conference in Charlotte, NC, resulting in Deputy Chief Winnie Davis coordinating the efforts of all the divisions of the LAPD. After the bombing at the end of the episode, Chief Pope recalls Fritz to LA in while Davis takes his place . Fritz aids the squad in stopping Cristian Ortiz and survives the bombing of the Major Crimes murder room. Afterwards, Fritz takes Sharon to the Assistant Chief's office where it is revealed that Leo Mason got the promotion and has been assigned as the Director of Operations. At the end of the episode, Fritz returned to his original position and rank of Deputy Chief in charge of SOB, after spending eight months as the Acting Assistant Chief. * NOTE: Acting and interim positions are temporary, and the person occupying the position on an acting or interim basis remains in the position only until confirmed to be the replacement or until replaced, at which time they return to their original position. Return to SOB When Chief Mason was promoted, he allowed Fritz to retain his job as Deputy Chief in charge of SOB, something Fritz is obviously content with. Before departing, Fritz congratulates Sharon, presumably aware of her promotion to Commander moments later. In , Fritz takes part in the show Major Crimes puts on for Phillip Stroh and his accomplice Dylan Baxter. As part of their plan, Fritz claims that he's pulling back LAPD resources, including the security detail on Gwendolyn Stroh and to be reducing the detail on Rusty Beck and Gustavo Wallace. Fritz and the detectives "argue" about Fritz's strategy which puts Rusty and Gus into greater danger. As part of the show, Provenza tells the departing Fritz to "save your apologies for the dead" and Andy and Tao note that Fritz is not pulling back the detail on Brenda, Fritz's own wife. Having watched the confrontation, Stroh buys Fritz's performance completely and grows worried as he had wanted the LAPD's resources stretched thin while Fritz is consolidating them. Fritz later prepares his forces in case Dylan takes the bait. In , Fritz insists on sending in SOB when Dylan is located, but makes it clear to Provenza that he also wants Stroh dead and will not allow him to escape. During the standoff at Dylan's house, Fritz uses a bullhorn to order the young man to surrender, resulting in Dylan panicking, opening fire on the officers and getting shot to death by Tao. After Dylan's dossier points to the airport as Stroh's escape plan, Fritz leads his forces alongside the vast majority of the LAPD to surround the airport in waiting for Stroh's arrival. Mason ultimately gives Fritz full command of the situation instead of Provenza, seeing it as an SOB situation instead of Major Crimes. Following Stroh's death, Fritz tells Rusty that Brenda had a hard time processing the news as well. Appearing to realize that Rusty killed Stroh instead of Provenza, Fritz makes a point of reassuring Rusty that Stroh's death was justified. At the end of the episode, Fritz, in a suit and tie, joins in Julio's promotion ceremony. Fritz is included in the list of people that Provenza gives as the people who will ensure that Major Crimes keeps bringing down killers in the future. Officer-involved shootings *Joe Meyers *Paul Collier Personality Smart, well-liked and a true gentleman, Fritz Howard is presented as the opposite to Brenda Johnson and her previous lover, Will Pope. His kindness, especially when it comes to Brenda, is seen in the first episode when he personally delivers her much needed DNA results. At times, it is also seen as a fault, however his desire in being able to please Brenda shows that he will ignore professional boundaries and even risk his career in order to help her close her cases. Once he begins dating Brenda, he is seen to be patient and humble in tolerating her work addiction and is willing to wait several hours or days so that he can see her. Fritz sometimes does get annoyed with Brenda, especially when their work crosses division lines and she does not uphold her end of the deal. However, they are always determined to keep their professional and personal lives separate. His kindness is also demonstrated when he delays his moving-in with Brenda, so that her mother does not find out. Although, he does become irritated that he is not able to meet both Brenda's parents after they have moved in together and why they must use separate phones - something which proves disastrous for him. He also does not like being left to entertain and care for Brenda's parents when they do come to visit, due to the perceived hostility that he will receive from her father by ignoring traditional family values. The revelation of having two D.U.Is on his licence proves as a shock to Brenda later on in the series and something that contrasts highly with Fritz's perceived character. His angry outburst towards Brenda in explaining why he received them shows a markedly different side to him that viewers have not been able to see before. When Commander McGinnis asks if Fritz is a bureaucrat, the Major Crimes squad tells her he's not so bad for an FBI agent. Despite this, at times Fritz is shown to be worried about policy such as during when dealing with an Indian diplomat. During that encounter, Fritz's help hindered the investigation more than helped due to his adherence to policy. This led to snide comments from Provenza about how they are actually searching for clues unlike him and that while he's been kissing the diplomat's ass, the diplomat is not doing the same, causing them issues. However, despite this, Fritz proved himself to be willing to go against the rules by detaining the diplomat with force when he attacked his daughter in the police station despite threats to his job. Relationships Brenda Leigh Johnson Fritz and Brenda's romance blossoms in Season 1 of The Closer and becomes more serious during Season 2 in which they decide to move in together in and later marry in . After being attacked in , whilst investigating a victim's house, Brenda phones Fritz and is unable to confidently hide the shock from him. He subsequently shows up at the Parker Center to take her home and take care of her for the night, showing an early insight into his feelings for her. With the theme of Season Two being partnerships, Fritz and Brenda's relationship slowly becomes stronger despite being occasionally strained, due to Brenda's commitment to her work and tactic of delaying personal matters in favor for her cases. This is seen when the arrival of Brenda's mother, Wille Rae, delays Fritz being able to move-in with Brenda. He has to keep all his possessions in a U-Haul trailer parked outside Brenda's house, so that her mother does not find out resulting in them both having to constantly cover their tracks about their relationship, much to Fritz's embarrassment in . Despite this, Brenda's mother reveals that she knows of their relationship and approves and promises not to tell Brenda's father about it, much to Brenda's delight. On Brenda's birthday in , he sends her a huge bouquet of flowers accompanied with a card which is read by Provenza, "Happy Birthday. You're 40 years young and I love you." In , after accidentally picking up the wrong phone, Fritz ends up talking to Brenda's father, infuriating Brenda. She is fearful of her father's reaction and is later resolved to read in his letter that it is of forgiveness and happiness for her, rather than anger. At the start of Season 3, Fritz along with the rest of the squad are increasingly alarmed by Brenda's symptoms that suggest she is gravely ill. Despite refusing to see a doctor, in , Fritz eventually convinces her to go suspecting that she is pregnant, something which terrifies Brenda. She is diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, and will be able to have children, much to the excitement of her parents, especially her mother. Fritz comforts Brenda after learning her diagnosis, by which it is reversible through means of ovarian drilling, and ensures that she will recover fully. Following this, he proposes to her in saying that he can not imagine life without her. Later on, in , whilst trying to arrange multi-car insurance, Brenda finds out that Fritz has two D.U.I's from some years earlier and is a recovering alcoholic, contradicting his earlier admission that he is "allergic" to alcohol. He is called "Fritzy" by Brenda as a nickname. Fritz also knows of Brenda's and Will Pope's previous affair in Washington, D.C. His relationship with Pope is somewhat awkward and uncomfortable due to this. It is not known if this awkwardness continues during his employment with the LAPD, with his close professional relationship with the Chief. In Season 3 of Major Crimes, Fritz tells the team that Brenda is considering a new job in Washington, DC, but given his new position in the LAPD, its unclear what Brenda did about the job or how their marriage was affected. He also now hides a heart attack from his wife and his need for a pacemaker. Dialogue in later episodes shows that the two remain married and suggests that Brenda remained in Los Angeles with Fritz. Family Fritz has one sister, named Claire who believes she is psychic. She helps Brenda with a case in Season 4 . She is also a witness to Brenda and Fritz's wedding. She is unmarried. Fritz's parents died at some unspecified time before he met Brenda, and left cash for Fritz and his sister, Claire. Fritz used this money to pay for Brenda's lawyer when she was being sued. Trivia * In , when Howard was communicating with one of his airships, he used the call sign 4 King 62. This is different from what would actually be used, as the call sign 4K, or King as it is known in the LAPD's phonetic alphabet, is assigned to the Robbery-Homicide Division. The numerical designation, in this case 62, would be assigned by the RHD Commanding Officer to a member of his/her division. ** In the , all call signs in the 4 King 60 -series are issued to the Major Crimes Division. Based on divisional ranks and seniority, the call sign 4 King 62 would belong to Lt. Andy Flynn. ** The actual call sign for the Commanding Officer of the Special Operations Bureau would be Staff 2 D, or David, as it is known in the LAPD. Gallery * Gallery: Fritz Howard Category:Characters Category:The Closer Category:Major Crimes Category:Federal Bureau of Investigation Category:LAPD Category:Special Operations Bureau Category:Office of Operations